Archive for August, 2011

Nicaragua continues to fare better than its Central American neighbors when it comes to HIV/AIDS. But that doesn’t mean there is no cause for concern. The illness has already killed nearly 900 people since it was first detected in Nicaragua in 1987 and, though government interest in the problem has certainly grown in recent years, so too has the number of reported infections. Read the rest of this entry ?

El Salvador’s violent crime epidemic is proving to be a veritable Chinese finger puzzle for President Mauricio Funes, who for all of his efforts seems no closer to reigning in the murderous maras (street gangs) or cutting into the country’s horrific homicide count. Read the rest of this entry ?

Chilean President Sebastián Piñera hit something of a political homerun last year when he delivered an ambitious – and unexpectedly centrist – *May 21 state of the nation address that left his would-be critics in the reeling Concertación coalition with surprisingly little to say. Read the rest of this entry ?

Under the leadership of second-year President Mauricio Funes, the government of El Salvador is beginning to tip its hat to the country’s women, implementing legislation designed – at least on paper – to address long-ignored issues such as income disparity, underrepresentation in politics and gender-based violence. Read the rest of this entry ?

The recent nuclear disaster in Japan’s tsunami-damaged Fukushima reactor has shaken – but not buried – plans for an atomic energy surge in South America, which right now has just four of the world’s 442 nuclear power plants. Read the rest of this entry ?

Having finally succeeded at forcing himself into Nicaragua’s November election, President Daniel Ortega is now turning his attention to would-be voters, showering them with things like free beer and worker bonuses in an effort to pad his already positive poll numbers and seal the deal on a constitutionally-questionable third term in office. Read the rest of this entry ?